georges1

I am not 55 but 44, I do ride bike from the 90's either steel and aluminium bikes but no carbon framed bikes,no di2 and no disc brakes. I do ride my oldies (city, road, hybrids and MTB)a lot. I am collector but before all an avid cylist. Not everyone is into carbon bikes or di2 , I see some people riding their vintage bikes. Last time, I met a cyclist was a week ago, he was riding a rare seven odanata with ksyrium and dura ace 7700 while I was riding my Giant Tourer. A good bike made back then is still a good bike.

Adamdavidaudio

Well I bought my bike for $60 yesterday, so I don’t know that I can comment on prices…

timtak

Jeff Neese
Thanks for letting us know that bikes have not been getting much faster since the mid nighties. I am still loving my early 2000s carbon bikes (Trek Madone 10 speed, Look KG385). The look's frame is semi aero but bike frame aerodynamics hardly makes any difference I think.

Speed is relevant to me. I never do road racing but always in a sort of TT in the sense that I ride against myself and the clock, on roads with traffic. I very rarely see riders riding in groups but perhaps the solo riders are training for race day.

rsbob 

The biggest waste might be very expensive cycling glasses. There are many low and middle end brands with the same UV protection, coverage and looks as the designer labels. Pay over $200? Homey don’t play dat.

tomato coupe

I have lots of sunglasses, costing from $20 up to $250. There’s no question the $250 glasses have better optics than the others.

elcruxio

Mine were 600 €...

But they were with prescription photochromic lenses. Haven't regretted them a single time.

Lombard

If they are Rx, then yes, this is true. I have had cheap glasses where the optics were noticeably inferior.

Trakhak

An Oakley rep once brought a little demonstrator setup into our bike shop that showed the quality of their products' optics. The rig sent a beam of light through one lens toward a flat surface.

He tested a competitor's sunglasses (taken off our shop's display) and an Oakley pair. After passing through the competitor's lens, the beam was soft and diffused. The beam from the Oakley lens was still sharply defined.

The difference was like that seen with flashlights that are designed to allow both diffuse and pinpoint light patterns.

tomato coupe

Non prescription glasses are no different than prescription glasses - they are just made to a prescription of zero diopters. Any imperfections will be just as detrimental.

CAT7RDR

I have a pair of Oakley Black Iridium that I use for hiking/walks that were expensive but just do not fit well under my helmets.
I use a $15 pair of DeWalt safety bifocal sunglasses for all my rides and I cannot see a major difference in optics.
YMMV

indyfabz

Until you need Rx glasses.

rsbob 

I bought a pair of Photochromatic cycling glasses with inserts for lenses. Total cost for prescription lenses and cycling glasses was $80. They are super.

genejockey 

Back in the late 1990s I had a pair of those Bolle wraparound sunglasses, and I got a prescription insert for them. I ended up with twice as many lenses to fog up and then have to clean. Luckily for me, even today my vision is good enough that I don't have wear glasses to drive or ride.

Reading is a different story. On the plus side, it keeps me from ever bothering to read texts I receive while riding!

Eric F 

I'm with you. I'm to the point where any more than 4 data fields on my Wahoo and I'm having trouble reading the numbers with just a quick glance. I have to be much more selective about what order I set my data fields.

Koyote

I had the same problem with my Bolt. I was recently offered a great deal on a Garmin Edge 1040, so I got it -- and it makes the Bolt look like a little baby computer. Like something the Garmin ate for breakfast and s**t out for lunch. Like a real computer that stunted its growth by smoking as a child. You get it.

On the 1040, I can run 7-8 data fields, and each one is still significantly larger than the Bolt's data fields. Aside from the sheer size, it also works perfectly in every other way -- it's fantastic. In the immortal words of Ferris Bueller, "It is so choice. If you have the means, I highly recommend picking one up."

Eric F 

I like that the Bolt is small, despite my vision challenges. If I had more mapping/route feature needs, I might consider switching to something larger, but that's something I rarely use.

Koyote

Yeah, the Bolt is svelte. But man, the 1040 is niiice. The huge screen, combined with the fact that it's a touchscreen, is a real winner.

Eric F 

Have you had issues with the touchscreen when it's wet? This was mentioned by a friend who uses the same one.

Lombard

I put my phone into airplane mode when I'm riding. Problem solved!

genejockey 

Mrs. GeneJockey occasionally needs reassurance that I'm still moving and not lying in a ditch somewhere while I'm out on a ride, so I leave mine on. Generally I in silent mode, but I find I don't hear it anyway.

Eric F 

You're going to need to ride faster if you want to get into airplane mode.

Koyote

No, I haven't had issues - but I think I've only ridden in the rain once with that computer, at least so far. It shouldn't be much of an issue, for me anyway, as I really don't need to swipe much -- I can fit so many data fields that I don't need another screen, in most circumstances.

wolfchild

I keep my smartphone turned off and carry it in one of my pockets. No need to play around with a phone while on a bike ride.

terrymorse 

I have the 830, which has a touchscreen. When it’s raining, I lock the screen.

elcruxio

On the MTB I have my phone on the handlebar. Garmin cycling units aren't great for wilderness navigation. On the phone I can get accurate topographic maps with GPS (for free! Yay Finland!).

On the road bike I typically have a garmin explorer for navigation and the phone for... things..